1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for controlling drive of a movable robot having two or more drive axes extending in different directions, and a system for controlling drive of such a robot.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there have been widely used robots for handling articles in various industrial fields. Generally, such a robot has at least two drive axes extending in different directions and is constructed movable in two or three dimensions.
A conventional movable robot is connected to a transmission line for transmitting and receiving various command data and verification data as well as to a power source line for driving the robot. The power source line is adapted to supply power for driving the robot via a trolley wire. The transmission line is in the form of an expandable/contractible cable to transmit necessary data concerning driving of the robot.
In the above conventional art, it is necessary to connect a robot to a wired transmission line in addition to a power source line, which may be likely to make an installing operation of the robot cumbersome and resultantly raise the plant building costs. Particularly, when a movable robot having an exceedingly long stroke is used, a wired transmission line is required to have durability and reliable data transmission against repeated movements of the robot, not to mention increased cost for securing a long transmission line. In the case where the movable robot is controlled by a wireless transmission way, it is highly likely that the robot may run out of control due to noises coming into the wireless transmission way.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for controlling drive of a robot that are free from the problems residing in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for controlling drive of a robot in a wireless transmission that can suppress runaway of a robot to a negligible level in even wireless transmission way.
According to an aspect of the present invention, for control of a robot having at least two drive axes, operation of an action program for the robot is initiated after a current position of the robot in terms of the drive axes is confirmed to coincide with a predetermined start position in terms of the drive axes in the action program.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawing.